Positive signs for Eriksson

There is room for improvement but plenty of cause for optimism ahead of the Croatia showdown

You could be forgiven for being a little confused about this England team. Are they just four games away from a glorious triumph or 90 minutes from beating a retreat from Portugal even earlier than some of their notorious supporters? Tomorrow night will provide at least some of the answers.

The narrowest of defeats against the holders and favourites and a convincing scoreline against Switzerland should leave England supporters full of optimism. After all, we came into the tournament with the knowledge that Eriksson’s first-choice quintet — Sol Campbell, David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard and Michael Owen — are all proven and respected at this level. We can now add Wayne Rooney to that list, such has been the impact he has made in the first two games.

Rooney’s displays have been the highlight so far. Against France he gave an awesome performance of pace, strength, movement and touch, and followed